LEINSTER SCHOOLS’ JUVENILE HURLING ‘A’ LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL
Goals crucial as North Dubs bow out to Kieran’s
Daire Walsh
THERE was heartbreak for Dublin North at Ballykelly GAA on Friday as they suffered a 4-13 to 1-13 defeat at the hands of St Kieran’s College in the semi-final of the Leinster Schools’ Juvenile Hurling ‘A’ League.
North had impressed during the group stages of the campaign, but even though Luke Swan and Darragh Power were in fine form throughout, it was their Kilkenny counterparts who made the brighter start in the Kildare venue.
Paraic Tierney’s outfit worked their way back into the reckoning as the opening half wore on, but thanks to a brace of goals by Kieran’s, they were facing into a six-point interval deficit. They weren’t out of contention just yet, though, and with Darragh Loughney (0-3) and centre-forward Kevin Byrne (0-2) making sizeable contributions to the scoreboard, they displayed admirable battling qualities.
The switch of Tommy O’Brien to full-back was also paying dividends, and in addition to Power’s 0-4 haul, the ever-influential Swan amassed a 1-2 salvo for his side.
The goal-scoring prowess of Kieran’s ultimately decided the outcome of the contest, but when you consider that they had 11 U14 players participating in an U15 competition, Dublin North can take a lot of positives from this year’s league.